Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- Beninese personages praised the feats leader Kim Jong Il performed in his foreign activities at the inaugural ceremony of the preparatory committee of the Socialist Party of Benin for marking his 71st birth anniversary.

Ali Houdou, president of the party, said in his speech:

Generalissimo Kim Jong Il, eternal general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, paid deep attention to building new, independent world. He conducted energetic activities to strengthen the world forces for independence against imperialism and defend the socialist cause and the world peace. The undying feats he performed in his foreign activities will shine long as the most precious legacy guaranteeing the victory of the socialist cause in the DPRK and the human cause of independence.

The vice-president of the Socialist Party of Benin said in his speech that Kim Jong Il was the most veteran statesman and peerlessly great man who steered the world politics and the development of the international relations. It is quite natural for the world progressives to miss him, the vice-president added.